5-year-old Boston bomb victim no longer critical

BOSTON (AP) — One of the youngest victims of the Boston Marathon bombings is improving and no longer in critical condition.

Dr. Peter Burke, chief of trauma surgery at Boston Medical Center, said Thursday the 5-year-old boy is getting better and “is going to be OK.”

Burke says the boy, whose name has not been released, had significant soft tissue injuries and pulmonary injuries. He says a blast can often compress a child’s chest, bruising the lungs and heart. Burke says he’s pleased with the boy’s progress.

Lisa Allee, head of the hospital’s Community Violence Response Team, says the boy has family around him. But she says the child’s mother also was injured and is at another hospital.

She says in cases such as this, they are able to connect patients through Skype.